Sometime this afternoon I changed my mind about the profession of acting.

In the past, I firmly believed that actors got paid entirely too much for what they do. That is to say, a person like Tom Cruise or Jim Carrey don’t deserve $20 million a picture. They are basically just pretending to be someone else and letting us watch. They live a privileged life, get all the breaks and one movie can basically put them, their family and their family’s family on easy street — forever.

Then, I reflected on what type of a world we’d live in where there weren’t television shows or movies to capture our imagination. Where would we be without actors? What would I do on a Sunday afternoon, where it is literally so hot outside that going out to walk the dog puts you at risk for heat stroke? And what about the money – does the fact that actors make millions really influence my life in any way? Are opportunities being withheld from me because Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell do the same shitty flicks again and again and people pay to see them?

I came to this realization while watching the show Nurse Jackie. It wasn’t the best television show I had ever seen, but something about Edie Falco‘s performance just convinced me that she deserved whatever fee she was commanding these days. I appreciated that her character was a sort of “anti hero” and deeply flawed. That in her world, she could be a good and bad guy, all at the same time, while being funny, crass, sarcastic and mean spirited. Such a different character than say, Carmella on the Sopranos. And for the record, I really liked the show (Nurse Jackie).

Or a show like Weeds (one that i can’t seem to say enough nice things about) where I can be made to feel so empathetic to the plight of a suburban house wife turned drug dealer? Or Lost and it’s magnificent island – a place that I’d very much like to visit (if not live).

Actors deserve whatever they get paid, because without actors, writers, film makers, etc the world would be a very different and boring place.